3 Dec 2013

Doctor agrees with report on women and alcohol

9:31 pm on 3 December 2013

An emergency department doctor says a report on women's drinking reflects what he is seeing at the hospital where he works.

Research released on Tuesday by Alcohol Healthwatch and Women's Health Action says excessive alcohol consumption is increasing women's risk of injury, disease and abuse.

It says the amount women drink has increased over the last 20 years in all age groups, but especially among young women.

Many of the authors' recommendations, such as increasing alcohol prices and restricting advertising, were rejected by Parliament in 2012 when it passed alcohol reform laws.

An emergency medicine specialist at Wellington Hospital, Paul Quigley, says he agrees with the report's findings.

"We've got data that showing clearly that when you look at the group of just plain drunks, since around 2008 that's actually been dominated by young women with now them leading the way - sixty percent versus forty percent presentation by males."

Dr Quigley says restricting alcohol advertising has been successful overseas.

The report estimates about 400 cases of breast cancer each year are alcohol-related, and excessive drinking also increases a woman's chances of being injured or abused, having unsafe sex and experiencing depression.

The report says an upcoming review of the National Drug Policy is a chance to make changes, including putting harm labels on bottles of alcohol.